It’s a truth. Touring with children will be one of the rewarding experiences for a household, but it surely’s additionally extraordinarily tiring, and typically the logistics add pointless stress. Nonetheless, embracing van life whereas touring with younger youngsters provides an additional layer of freedom and adaptability.
And we’re proof of that. For my household and me, our trusty 35-year-old Ford Transit Rimor motorhome, affectionately generally known as Koala (that’s the mannequin identify, we consider!), has been our house away from house on many memorable journeys since we purchased it two and a half years in the past.
From the enchanting landscapes of Northern Morocco to the Balearic Islands, the picturesque villages of Portugal, and throughout ten different nations in Central and Southwest Europe, our journey has been nothing in need of extraordinary with Koala by our facet.
After gathering some expertise over the previous few years, right here’s a glance into this way of life, together with ideas for touring full-time or for lengthy intervals with children, and the way we guarantee we keep wholesome on the highway. Let’s dive proper in!
The Van Life Expertise
Embracing Van Life: Our Trusted Ford Transit
Koala, our classic Ford Transit, could be over three many years outdated, but it surely has confirmed to be an extremely dependable journey companion. We prefer to name it ‘classic’ IYKYK.
Outfitted with simply the necessities (however lacking none of them from the heating system to boiler, three beds, two tables, full kitchen, and loo), our motorhome is surprisingly spacious, offering us with consolation and comfort on the highway. And was inexpensive sufficient to make it a easy choice to take again within the day!
Even when these autos are very overpriced lately – particularly because the pandemic hit, after they skilled a type of increase and costs skyrocketed, and Koala was the proper instance of that, I felt cozy understanding the cash invested could be rapidly recovered given our confirmed love for journey and the rising costs all over the place else within the journey business.
The allure of van life lies in its simplicity—having your house with you, regardless of the place you go. It permits us the liberty to discover at our personal tempo, making impromptu stops and adjusting our route as wanted, climate allowing.
Memorable Van Life Journeys
Most of our journeys since we purchased Koala have been to close by locations. Though we had visited most of those nations earlier than—usually a number of occasions—exploring them by motorhome provided a brand new and distinctive expertise.
Northern Morocco: Our journey in Northern Africa was a vivid tapestry of vibrant markets, beautiful landscapes, and wealthy tradition. From the bustling streets of Tangier to the serene great thing about Chefchaouen’s hilly backdrop exterior its blue-washed outdated city, Morocco provided a mix of pleasure and leisure.
Touring via the northern a part of the nation—our fourth time there—with our child daughter (she was 11 months outdated on the time) is one thing we’ll keep in mind endlessly, and Koala dealt with the rugged terrain like a champ.
Portugal: Portugal’s various panorama has already offered the proper backdrop for a number of van life journeys. We reveled within the scenic great thing about the northern coast, relaxed on the seashores of the Alentejo and Algarve areas, and explored the historic allure of Lisbon throughout the New Yr’s Eve festivities.
Though we’ve visited this nation round 50 occasions or extra (it’s that near our base), every cease introduced one thing new, and Koala by no means didn’t be our cozy retreat after a day of exploring.
Spain:
We’ve taken extra journeys in our house nation than we will rely.
Nonetheless, the longest and most important ones have taken us to:
- Catalonia’s Costa Brava, Mallorca within the Balearic Islands (the place ferry rides are at all times an journey!), and the Mediterranean coast from Valencia to Cabo de Gata.
- Andalusia, furthermore the provinces of Huelva and Cadiz, is at all times nice for lazy seaside days, good climate, nice meals, and full of life cities.
- Asturias and Picos de Europa, neighboring Galicia, and ideally suited for exploring by van.
- The Pyrenees, with its many nationwide parks and valleys, together with different rigorously chosen locations in Northern Spain.
- Galicia. Should you observe us on social media (right here’s our Instagram account for many who don’t however have an interest), you recognize we by no means miss a chance for an in a single day getaway, an extended weekend, and even longer explorations of our yard. We’re nonetheless trying to find one other lovely vacation spot with as many van-life-friendly spots as our beloved Galicia!
Central and Southwest Europe: Our current 30-day motorhome journey via ten European nations—France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, and Spain—was a whirlwind of unforgettable experiences.
From the D-Day seashores of Normandy in Northern France to the beautiful Alpine landscapes in Switzerland, each vacation spot shined by itself.
That’s the magic of the outdated continent!
Staying Wholesome on the Street
Significance of Well being Insurance coverage for Touring Households
Now first issues first. Probably the most necessary facets of touring full-time with children is guaranteeing that everybody is secure and the entire household has complete medical insurance. At the least for us, having the best protection offers us peace of thoughts and permits us to get pleasure from our adventures with out worrying about potential medical points.
Up to now, we had our truthful dose of surprising points on the highway and a very long time in the past we determined it was time to start out packing insurance coverage on all our journeys to keep away from hefty payments and plenty of time sorting the medical methods wherever we could be.
Anyway, we’re excited to introduce you to SafetyWing’s newest addition: Nomad Well being.
Particularly designed for expats, digital nomads, and sluggish vacationers like us, this insurance coverage covers over 175 nations. So whether or not you’re mountain climbing within the hills close to Chefchaouen or exploring Belgium cities, Nomad Well being gives entry to high quality healthcare wherever you’re.
Nomad Well being provides intensive protection, together with hospital stays, physician visits, and even psychological well being assist. You too can add dental and imaginative and prescient protection by paying a premium payment, which is especially helpful for households. The continuity of protection is a serious profit, permitting us to journey throughout a number of nations with out having to modify insurance coverage. For extra particulars on how Nomad Well being can profit your travels, try their protection choices.
Managing Well being and Wellness Whereas Touring
However, let me inform you, staying wholesome on the highway includes extra than simply having good insurance coverage. That’s why on prime of getting nice insurance coverage in place, we additionally give attention to sustaining a balanced way of life as a lot as doable (we’re solely people in any case!) by incorporating common hikes and walks in addition to wild swims and another occasional out of doors sports activities into our routine whereas touring.
That means and though I want I had extra time for issues like yoga, we will bask in stretching recurrently and easily shifting our our bodies as a lot as we will every day, which helps preserve us energetic. Babywearing our daughter doubles as a exercise and a bonding expertise, and cooking half of our meals in Koala permits us to keep up a nutritious eating regimen with out too many processed meals.
Babymoons: Touring Whereas Pregnant
France Street Journey: From Galicia to Mont Saint-Michel
Earlier than our daughter was born, we launched into a memorable babymoon highway journey via France. Touring whereas pregnant was an journey in itself. The journey from Galicia to Mont Saint-Michel was fast-paced, crammed with stops at charming cities and landmarks.
The spotlight was visiting Mont Saint-Michel, a magical island commune with breathtaking views. Regardless of the challenges of touring throughout being pregnant, the journey was a incredible method to bond and create lasting reminiscences earlier than our household expanded.
Spain Adventures: Exploring Regionally
As soon as our daughter arrived, we continued our love for van life with frequent highway journeys inside Spain as I shared earlier than. From the beautiful landscapes of the Pyrenees to the uncooked seashores of Cabo de Gata, every journey provided new experiences. Koala turned our cell base, permitting us to discover Spain’s various areas whereas conserving our baby snug and entertained.
Ideas for Touring with Children
Making ready for the Journey
Touring with a toddler requires some additional planning. Packing necessities like toys, snacks, and luxury gadgets is essential. We’ve discovered that having a well-stocked motorhome makes life on the highway a lot simpler. Making ready Koala for consolation and security includes guaranteeing that it’s geared up with a safe sleeping space, sufficient drinkable water, ample storage, and a well-functioning kitchen for meals to start out with.
Conserving the Children Completely happy and Wholesome
Journey Actions: Conserving a toddler entertained on lengthy drives will be difficult. We carry alongside a wide range of small toys, books, and video games to maintain our daughter engaged. Easy dialog and music additionally assist make the journey extra pleasant.
Wholesome Consuming on the Street: Managing meals and snacks whereas touring is usually a bit difficult, but it surely’s doable with a bit of planning. We prepare dinner half of our meals in Koala’s kitchen, which permits us to keep up a nutritious diet and accommodate any dietary preferences or wants.
Showers and Hygiene: Conserving everybody clear whereas on the highway is important. In our case, we like to mix showers in campgrounds and dips in lakes or seashores when doable with our motorhome’s bathe each different time we want a bathe. It’s all about discovering a stability that works for your loved ones.
Discovering Secure and Handy Parking
Discovering parking for in a single day stays is usually a problem, particularly in cities. We want avenue parking or designated campervan spots when accessible. In cities like Ghent, the place parking will be difficult, planning forward is vital. We additionally search for secure and quiet areas to make sure evening’s sleep. And if a spot feels off, it doesn’t matter what time is it or if it’s simply one in every of us considering that means, we at all times search for one other one.
Conclusion
Touring full-time with children is a novel and rewarding expertise. Our adventures with Koala have proven us the thrill and challenges of van life, and we wouldn’t commerce the reminiscences we’ve made for something. For households contemplating an analogous way of life, having the best medical insurance is essential. Nomad Well being provides complete protection that’s good for our nomadic adventures. To be taught extra about the way it can assist your travels, go to their web site.
As we’ve got explored, embracing the van life with children would possibly include its personal set of challenges, however the rewards far outweigh them. With a bit of planning and the best assist, you possibly can create nice experiences for your loved ones, regardless of the place the highway takes you. Secure travels!
